ArticlePloS one2014
Chronic gestational stress leads to depressive-like behavior and compromises medial prefrontal cortex structure and function during the postpartum period.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers.
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Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 101 citations in OpenAlex.
- Chronic prenatal corticosterone exposure alters postpartum maternal behavior and shapes sex-specific offspring outcomes.Research square · 2026Article
- Gestational stress disrupts the neuroimmune environment in the nucleus accumbens of maternal rats.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Inhibition of Semaphorin 3A in Hippocampus Alleviates Postpartum Depression-Like Behaviors in Mice.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Gestational stress disrupts dopamine and oxytocin signaling in the postpartum reward system of rats: implications for mood, motivation and mothering.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Maternal cortisol concentration is associated with reduced brain activation to infant cry and more intrusive parenting behavior.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Does lateral habenula mediate effects of gestational stress on rat maternal behavior?Brain behavior and immunity integrative · 2025Article
- Antidepressant effects of activation of infralimbic cortex via upregulation of BDNF and β-catenin in an estradiol withdrawal model.Psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Bridging Neurobiological Insights and Clinical Biomarkers in Postpartum Depression: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Molecular basis underlying default mode network functional abnormalities in postpartum depression with and without anxiety.Human brain mapping · 2024Article
- Effects of reproductive experience on cost-benefit decision making in female rats.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2024Article
- Recalibration of the stress response system over adult development: Is there a perinatal recalibration period?Development and psychopathology · 2023Review
- Perinatal Depression and the Role of Synaptic Plasticity in Its Pathogenesis and Treatment.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Gestational stress decreases postpartum mitochondrial respiration in the prefrontal cortex of female rats.Neurobiology of stress · 2023Article
- Mitochondrial might: powering the peripartum for risk and resilience.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2023Review
- Lateral habenula neurocircuits mediate the maternal disruptive effect of maternal stress: A hypothesis.Zoological research · 2022Review
- Dopamine downregulation in novel rodent models useful for the study of postpartum depression.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Article
- Experience-Regulated Neuronal Signaling in Maternal Behavior.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Review
- Study and Experimental Validation of the Functional Components and Mechanisms ofFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Maternal allergic inflammation in rats impacts the offspring perinatal neuroimmune milieu and the development of social play, locomotor behavior, and cognitive flexibility.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2021Article
- Early Pup Removal Leads to Social Dysfunction and Dopamine Deficit in Late Postpartum Rats: Prevention by Social Support.Frontiers in global women's health · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
Postpartum depression, which affects approximately 15% of new mothers, is associated with impaired mother-infant interactions and deficits in cognitive function. Exposure to stress during pregnancy is a major risk factor for postpartum depression. However, little is known about the neural consequences of gestational stress. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a brain region that has been linked to stress, cognition, maternal care, and mood disorders including postpartum depression. Here we examined the effects of chronic gestational stress on mPFC function and whether these effects might be linked to structural modifications in the mPFC. We found that in postpartum rats, chronic gestational stress resulted in maternal care deficits, increased depressive-like behavior, and impaired performance on an attentional set shifting task that relies on the mPFC. Furthermore, exposure to chronic stress during pregnancy reduced dendritic spine density on mPFC pyramidal neurons and altered spine morphology. Taken together, these findings suggest that pregnancy stress may contribute to postpartum mental illness and its associated symptoms by compromising structural plasticity in the mPFC.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.